I saw a review for this book at Natasha’s blog, Maw Books.  Her review and her gushing over the book, Dovey, and the author, caused me to quickly reserve this at my library….

~Sheila

Dovey Coe us 12 years old and is wise beyond her years.  She spends much of her time doing things with her brother Amos, who is deaf, but certainly not dumb.

And Dovey Coe is not liking Parnell Caraway hanging around her very pretty, older sister Caroline.  He isn’t good for Caroline, she senses that, and she sees how Parnell weasels his way into her families good graces, and it looks like he may even be making his way into Caroline’s heart as well.  As angry as all of this makes Dovey…. she still swears she did not kill him.

I didn’t give away anything here that you can’t read on the back cover.  It’s true…. Parnell does wind up dead.  And it is also true that Dovey is there when it happens.  What this fast paced story is about is centered around this plot as told by Dovey Coe.

Dovey speaks in a distinct twang that I found really added to the story.   While her family doesn’t have much, they make do with what they have and are not lacking for anything.  Parnell Caraway however comes from the flip of this scenario…. he is one of only a couple of kids in town who actually have seen and owned a dollar bill.  He has a car and nice clothes.  Parnell is used to getting what he wants, and what he wants is Caroline Coe.

It weren’t a pretty picture out there on the porch.  Oh the stars was shining, and the crickets was playing their little tune, and the breeze washed the good smell of honeysuckle across the evening.  But the pleasure of all that was ruined by the sight of Parnell Caraway’s arm around my sisters shoulder.

I really enjoyed this read.   I couldn’t help but love Dovey’s character, this strong, intelligent,  little girl.   I have not read this author before, but I am certainly interested in seeing what else she has to offer.

My Amazon Rating is here

Book Journey Map has been updated to include Dovey Coe

If you are going to hike the Appalachian Mountains, then you will need to stop for coffee here

181 pages

Simon and Schuster

Cover Story:  I like it, it helps me picture Dovey as when you hear her voice in the book, I tend to forget she is only twelve.

I picked up this book on loan from my public library.

Imagine with me for a minute….  you have a Grandmother who owns a priceless vintage clothing collection and she has just passed it on to you.  Suddenly boxes are arriving on your doorstep every day like Christmas and you are opening up treasured gorgeous dresses from different periods, 1790 – 1995… dresses that will make you drool.  And then imagine among the Dior and Chanel, there is a book – a book that tells the story of each dress…. and the book itself is almost a bigger treasure.

♦    ♦    ♦    ♦    ♦

Now – you don’t have to imagine.  What I just described – is this book.  THIS BOOK.  Author Charlotte Smith did inherit these dresses and the book, and this book is the stories that Charlotte discovered about the dresses.  In this beautiful hard cover and oddly heavy book (which seems appropriate for what is between the covers) are pictures of dresses and with each picture…

is a story…

For the record, I am not a girly girl.  I prefer jeans and t shirts, to dresses and skirts.  I would rather be a part of a floor hockey team then go to a fancy dance…. but….

occasionally…

I can’t say that some of the dresses did not make me picture what it would be like to own such a beautiful piece.  I poured over the pages and like a teenager does with a fashion magazine, I went through and picked out a few of my favorites.

I loved the stories behind the dresses.  The parties, the heads that turned, the ones that got the guy – and kept him.  Some of the dresses have been to ballrooms and danced with people who’s names you will recognize;  others made their way to weddings, and travels….  and you wish that you could have gone with the dress.

This book is a keeper.  A treasure that I will take off the shelf time and again.

~Sheila

Book Journey’s map has been updated to include Dreaming of Dior

Cover Story:  Very eye catching and has a quality about it that you not only feel, but you can see before you ever pick the book up

I received this book from Simon and Schuster